Part 42

“Umar was convinced. However, he did not issue him a command to march to Egypt straightaway, but rather asked him to wait till he sent him a message after his return to Madinah giving him the green light to proceed.

Back in Madinah, ~Umar, now convinced of ~Amr's sound view, sent him a message with Shurayk Ibn * Abdah, wherein he commanded him to gather massings of fighters and march to Egypt. “Amr received the message of the Commander of the Faithful while blockading Qaysariah. He therefore deputied Mu*aweyiah Ibn Abi Sufyaan to take over and continue the blockade. Thrilled by the news, * Amr immediately fell to mobilising a huge army of about four thousand soldiers and marched straight to Egypt. He further sent ~Umar's messenger back to Madinah asking for succor both for Muslim troops in Syria and those heading for Egypt.

“Amr chose to take the coastal route to * Areesh, hoping that succor would be soon to arrive and would join his troops. He was however worried lest ‘Umar should lend an ear to adverse opinions who were against the conquest of Egypt and be thus dissuaded from the whole plan and end up commanding him to retreat. That was more or less what took place. As a result, the Caliph sent’ Amr a message saying: "If you receive this message of mine before entering the territories of Egypt, turn back to your previous post. If you have already arrived, march on and I will send you succor." However, when * Umar's messenger arrived, ~Amr resorted to a manoeuvre so as not to receive the message before reaching a village between Rafah and ~Areesh, which is located in Egypt. It was there that ~ Amr stationed his troops and broke to his soldiers the content of the Caliph's message. He informed them that they were to proceed with their plans. That officially marked the beginning of the conquest of Egypt.

The Muslim army simply managed to capture ~ Areesh as it was defenceless. ~Amr then marched with his troops southwards taking the same route that the Persians had taken twenty five years before that day to occupy Egypt and enslave its people. It was not before the army reached Al-Farama that they were to encounter any resistance. The news of Muslims' entering the Egyptian territories was not kept a secret from the Byzantines. They had anticipated some act of aggression on the part of those desert-dwellers. However, they were well-aware of the fact that they were the ablest people to fight in the desert and that it would hardly be a good idea to engage in war against them in the Egyptian desert.

The Byzantines did not think ~ Areesh would be a good ignition point to start war from since it was so close to Palestine where Muslims could easily get succor in case they needed it. Al-Farama_ was chosen instead to be the first place to engage in fighting. Nonetheless, Al-Muqawais, the governor of Egypt, as well as Tribunus, the Byzantine commander who had fled earlier from Jerusalem, dared not join fighters at Al-Farama. The army of Muslims was quite small in number compared to the huge massings of Byzantines fighters. The Byzantines therefore pompously thought they would easily outnumber their enemies and bring them to their knees. However, they were not aware of the fact that Muslim fighters, unlike any others, were never intimidated by huge armies and that they went to battlefield spurred by steadfast faith and a a never-failing desire to spread Islam throughout the world. Hence, in their eyes, massive armies were hardly different from a small battalion.

Muslims imposed a rigorous blockade on the castles of the Byzantines, who nevertheless refused to give in. “Amr Ibn AlAas realized that war was their only option. He addressed his troops to enkindle their enthusiasm reminding them of their past victories and asserting that whenever they fought for the

cause of Allah, He was certainly on their side, supporting them and granting them triumph. Muslims thereupon voiced the cry of war: “Allah is the Greatest" and galloped towards the castle where a ferocious battle took place between the two armies, ending with the pathetic defeat of the Byzantines. Muslims seized their castles and later used them as fortresses in their wars.

Though many fighters were lost in Al-Farama battle, the Bedouins living on the borders of the Egyptian eastern desert joined Muslim troops thus making up for the martyrs. ~ Amr Ibn AlAas then resumed the march, as he headed southwards capturing along the way Magdal and Al-Qassasseen, with hardly any resistance. He next made way to Bilbais, where a significant battle was to break out. The city of Bilbais was situated 35 miles from another city, Misr, with its well-fortified castles. Tribunus mobilized nearly twelve thousand wellequipped fighters and so planned it that his troops would surprise Muslims, and this he managed to achieve. Muslim soldiers were indeed taken unawares. However, ~ Amr, being the shrewd commander that he was, was not to be caught off guard, A fiery war immediately took place. Though a good number of Muslims were martyred during that battle, the Byzantines’ casualties were far worse. They lost four thousand fighters: a thousand were killed and three thousand taken captives. Right upon this definite defeat, the vanquished remnants of the Byzantines dispersed throughout the country and were hardly heard of again. However, the one most significant outcome of that battle was that Tribunus was killed and so an adamant enemy of Muslims who was a source of constant trouble ceased to exist.

Pleased with the results achieved so far, “Amr did not think it wise to plunge into the next step straightaway. He knew that his fighters were weary and needed to rest. Besides, he

knew that starting from that point each step he took was of grave consequences and therefore had to be carefully planned and fully mulled over. ~ Amr hence decided to stay at Bilbais for a while. It was not for another month that Muslim troops resumed the march heading for Misr. ~ Amr's next target was the castle of Umm-Dunain, a village on the Nile to the north of the famous castle of Babilion. The significance of Umm-Dunain castle lied in the fact that its garrison constituted the front-line defence against any potential attacks on the castle of Babilion. This being the case, it was imperative for Muslims to capture Umm-Dunain. They therefore besieged the castle for a while and the blockade ended in a ferocious battle wherein many Byzantines were killed or taken captives.

The Byzantines who had sought refuge at the castle of Babilion were filled with dismay when they received the news of their sad defeat at Umm-Dunain. They shuddered at the thought that they were next on Muslims’ agenda. However, much to their surprise, Muslims crossed the Nile and headed for Al-Fayoom, where they dealt people there a heavy blow, a message Muslims meant to send their enemies, namely that Egypt would not remain under their sway for long.

Back in Madinah, the Commander of the Faithful mobilized succoring forces to send to “Amr. He appointed as leaders of those troops Az-Zubayr [bn Al-~ Awwaam, ~ Ubadah Ibn As-Saamit, Al-Miqdaad Ibn Al-Aswad and Maslamah Ibn Mukhallad. Once ready, the aiding army immediately set out to join their fellow brothers in Islam, fighting for the Cause of Allah. They took the same route followed by * Amr to Bilbais. From there, they made it to Heliopolis, where they camped. Gladly with the victory he achieved at Al-Fayoom, ~ Amr headed back to Heliopolis where he joined the succoring army.

“Amr realised that it was high time for what he hoped would be a decisive battle at the castle of Babilion. The shrewd

commander therefore sat down and aptly contrived a subtle strategem whereby to crush the Byzantines once and for all. However, the success of his plot hinged on thinking of a ploy to get the enemies out of the castle. In the meantime, Theodore, the commander of the Byzantines in the castle, sought his aides' counsel as to whether it would be a better idea to stick to the castle till Muslims came over and attacked or to march outside and confront them at Heliopolis. Much to Muslims’ good fortune, the Byzantines played right into Muslims's hands, doing the one thing they prayed they would do. All the commanders’ aides were of the view that they ought to step out of the castle and be the first to attack. Leaning on his sharp perception and long experience, “Amr divided his army into three groups: five hundred took shelter in a big cave called Bani Wa'il, another five hundred were positioned at Umm-Dunain, while the main army headed for an area presently known as Al- * Abbaaseyiah, where they awaited the arrival of their enemies.

When the moment that both sides eagerly anticipated was there, the two armies engaged in fierce fighting at Al- *Abbaaseyiah, during which both parties spared no effort to annihilate the other. However, in the middle of the tumultuous battle, the Byzantine army suddenly lost its balance once it was ambush by Muslims lurking inside the Bani Wa'il cave. They were obviously confounded and taken off guard. They therefore headed straight westwards hoping to take refuge in the castle of Umm-Dunain. Much to their horror, what they hoped to be a haven was nothing but another disaster. The other ambush immediately struck. ~Amr's shrewd contrivance therefore turned out to be invaluable. The Byzantine army were led to believe that they were being attacked by three armies, and hence thought that resistance would most certainly be fruitless. The majority of the confounded fighters showed the heels while the rest hurried back to the castle where they took refuge.

In the wake of Muslims’ glorious victory in the battle of Al-- Abbaaseyiah, better known in books of history as the battle of “Ain Shams, “Amr got the news that the Byzantine army stationed at Al-Fayoom fled to Nequis as they were intimidated by Muslims' successive triumphs. Consequently, ~ Amr dispatched a_ well-armed unit to Al-Fayoom to capture it. Similarly, he sent another unit to the south of Delta where they captured Athreeb and Munuf in the Munufiyah province. Perhaps the less material repercussion of Muslims's victories was that the Egyptians started to think that Providence was on Muslims' side and that they were meant to be victorious in whichever battle they engaged in. This, in turn, prepared them for receiving the call to Islam from the people whom they began to feel were different from any others.

At that point, “Amr realised that it was high time to crown his victories achieved so far with two significant steps: namely capturing the castle of Babilion and the conquest of Egypt's magnificent capital, Alexandria. Though the Byzantine were dealt a heavy blow a number of times at Al-Farama, Bilbais, Umm-Dunain, Al-Fayoom and ~ Ain Shams, these past triumphs merely paved the way for the main event. He therefore immediately began to set the plan for his next target.